July 23, 2010. Rome, Italy. In the following letter, written
on July 10, one day after the publication of his
appointment, Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, CS, communicates some initial thoughts
and exhortations to the priests and religious of the Legionaries
of Christ. The original Italian text can be read here, and an unofficial English translation is presented below.

***

Rome, July 10, 2010

Dear brothers in the Lord,

With his letter
dated June 16, 2010, the Holy Father Benedict XVI named
me his “Delegate for the Congregation of the Legionaries of
Christ” and entrusted me with the responsibility of governing your
institute in his name “during the time that it takes
to complete the path of renewal and lead it to
the celebration of an extraordinary General Chapter, whose main purpose
will be to complete the revision of the Constitutions.” While
the Holy Father highlights “the need and urgency of a
path of in-depth revision of the Institute’s charism,” he expresses
his “desire closely to accompany, sustain, and guide this process.”
For the Pope, the Pontifical Delegate is his personal Delegate.
As he carries out his task, the Delegate must act
in a way that he is “for this Religious Family
a concrete sign of my (the Pope’s) closeness and act
in my (the pope’s) name.” In this family—in other words,
your congregation—the Pope recognizes the presence of “a great number
of Members” who demonstrate “sincere zeal” and “a fervent religious
life.” The Pope does not enter into more detail regarding
how his Delegate will fulfill his task, but leaves the
necessary concrete clarifications for a later decree which will establish
“some additional modalities for the fulfillment of this office.” As
we await these modalities, we can already start out on
our path, sustained by trust and prayer, and the blessing
of the Holy Father and of so many good souls
who esteem you and appreciate your work in the Church.

At
this moment, I find this thought heartening: The Church first
gave her necessary and indispensable attention to facts, events, and
people which would have threatened to its roots the Congregation
itself if the Church—in her love full of wisdom, inspired
not by human standards but those of the Spirit—had not
intervened. And now, moved by that same love, she contemplates
the beautiful reality that you yourselves, your congregation are. Through
me, the Pope now wants to accompany you on your
path so that, not letting yourselves be discouraged by sad
events that are now behind you, you will rejoice in
your present, in the gift of the religious, priestly, and
missionary vocation you have received. This vocation comes from the
Heart of Jesus, from his love. The one who started
his work in the heart of each one of you,
who preserved you from the dangers that threatened you, wants
to bring it to completion. Therefore, we must first thank
the Lord for the work he has done, in so
many ways. The Lord’s intervention through the ministry of the
Church has certainly been decisive for you, and the same
Lord wishes to continue it still through his Church. I
invite you therefore to thank the Lord for his kindness,
mercy, and fidelity.

From thanksgiving, we move onto the path of
renewal to which the Holy Father is inviting us. This
implies a clear awareness also of the situation in which
we find ourselves and clearly identifying the causes that led
us to today’s unease and interior suffering. The Pope also
points out the direction of this path: mainly by revisiting
the institute’s charism, and more concretely, the constitutional norms that
are its expression and protection. The goal that the Holy
Father sets is the celebration of an Extraordinary General Chapter
of the Congregation in which the new text of the
constitutions will be approved. It will be an individual and
community path, walked in an attitude of humility, intense spiritual
commitment, and strengthening of the vocation. The end of this
path should be a commitment to renewed fidelity to the
Lord in the religious and priestly life, a pact renewing
the covenant of love between you and the Lord, so
that the Lord’s eternal fidelity to each one of you
will trigger your own fidelity, with renewed, life-long commitment to
him, at the service of his kingdom. I would like
to think that you are among those the Holy Father
calls “the great number of members” who are full of
zeal and fervor.

The path of renewal is not for questioning
one’s vocation, but for re-examining it in depth and renewing
our adherence to it in a new spirit and a
more intense participation.

It is understandable that some are going through
difficult times, some have already looked at other paths, and
others might now be considering them. A vocation is of
too great import to decide it in a moment of
turmoil. One must first recover serenity of mind and soul,
because the decision is taken before God, in fidelity to
Christ, whom you have chosen as the king of your
lives. Let us be patient. Let us walk the path
of renewal in humility and faith; let us together consider
again our religious consecration in the light of the charism
of the congregation; let us re-read the constitutions on which
you have committed your lives. It is a matter, I
am sure, of freeing them from elements that can cloud
your charism, so that the vocation in the profession of
the evangelical counsels will shine fully in all their beauty,
to strengthen in your lives the kingship of Christ, who
revealed himself fully in his Paschal mystery. Following Jesus who,
in his way of love, freely offers himself to the
Father and to his brothers and sisters, to create in
his risen body the new creature. Your vocation, your congregation,
is in your hands, you are responsible for them. The
Church is with you; the Lord is merciful and generous:
he gives his Spirit without measure! His grace precedes us,
accompanies us, and carries us to the goal. As we
walk this path, let us help each other in prayer,
especially at the Lord’s altar, and let us encourage one
another to depend on Jesus’ fidelity, who is King of
Kings, and Lord of Lords: the Everything of our lives.

I
am pleased to entrust all of you to the heart
of the Most Holy Mother of God and of the
Church, of each one of you personally and of the
entire Congregation. May she, whom the Lord made the keeper
of his Son and of the Church, in her love
protect and guard all of you and your congregation. May
the Lord bless you and make his face of peace
and love shine upon you.

+ Velasio De Paolis, CS

(original text in Italian)

***

Related documents:• Decree from
the Holy See defining the modalities of the papal delegate’s
work.• The Holy Father’s letter to Archbishop Velasio De
Paolis, SC, appointing him papal delegate for the Legionaries of
Christ.• Archbishop Velasio De Paolis’ homily during Mass with
the Legionaries of Christ at the Center for Higher Studies
in Rome on July 10.